Sweet Dreams
by RavenclawCookie
Summary: One night aboard Red Dwarf, Arnold Rimmer is awoken from a particularly pleasant dream about a fellow crew mate. After a heated midnight discussion, Lister and Rimmer both realise they have feelings for each other, but will they ever be able to reveal their true colours?


**_Hey guys!  
_**

**_So this is my very first Lister/Rimmer fanfic! It's a very short, very quick one-shot about the boy's feelings towards eachother. It's not exactly a tear-jerker, but I hope you enjoy it nevertheless. It's based around the time of series 3, ideally before the episode 'Bodyswap' but I suppose that's not an important factor.  
_**

**_As always, I do not own anything apart from the storyline. I do not own Red Dwarf or it's characters.  
_**

**_Enjoy guys, and please remember to read and review!  
_**

**_Love,  
_**

_**RavenclawCookie**  
_

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_"Kiss me, smeghead."_

Arnold Rimmer woke from his dream, his chocolate curls caked in sweat, his silk pyjamas plastered to his blazing skin. His lungs clawed for breath and his eyes swept the gloom of his and Lister's room, his holographic heart hammering against his chest. He wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead with the smooth cuff of his shirt, resisting the urge to let a small groan of horror escape his thin lips.

_Another one._

That had been the hologram's forth dream in a week that involved himself and his bunkmate, Lister. The dreams themselves had become more frequent over the passing months. The more time he and his slovenly room mate spent aboard this lonely vessel, the more intense the dreams became. They were so vivid, so life like; they almost felt real. But more than anything, Rimmer _wanted_ them to be real.

Despite the constant battle of feelings raging within his chest, Rimmer had to admit to himself that he felt something for the disgusting smeghead he shared a room with. But it was more than just the unbreakable bond that came with spending so much time in eachothers company; it was more than just a friendship and, as scared as he was to admit it, he knew there was a possibility of love. His feelings had escalated drastically over the months and the Hologram was almost at breaking could not bear concealing his feelings within himself for much longer, but he knew he had to endure the pain and keep them to himself.

Rimmer sighed, careful not to wake the subject of his dreams from his feel slumber. Lister stirred in his bunk, causing Rimmer to freeze in mid-crouch as he rose from his sheets, feeling particularly restless. He could bear the insomnia no longer. Once certain that Lister was still fast asleep, he padded swiftly and soundlessly across the room. He placed his head in his hands, collapsing into a chair before his knees had a chance to buckle. He felt weak, exhausted and confused beyond belief.

Rimmer was constantly complaining to Lister about his lack of ability to touch, feel and taste solid objects. He was frequently whining about his craving to possess a human body - to truly be part of the real world. He was sick and tired of falling through things, trying to pick up items and watching them slip through the fragmented shards of his light beam. But although he wanted all of these things and more, there was another meaning behind his desperate attempts to be human. He wanted to be with Lister and in his dreams, his prayers were answered.

As he sat at the table in the centre of the room, he became lost in his own thoughts. The fantasies that plagued him in his subconscious snatched him into their claws now - and he let them.

He envisioned himself crushing his lips to a surprised yet satisfied Lister's in a fiery whirlwind of passion; his hands locked themselves around the back of Lister's neck, sweeping his long onyx dreadlocks aside. The pair threw caution to the winds and their bodies became entwined as one. Lister's gloved hands rested on the sides of Rimmer's face. For once, Rimmer wasn't irritated by the curry stains littered down the front of his shirt or the faint taste of lager on his Tongue. He relished it. He _enjoyed_ it. Rimmer's emerald uniform brushed against Lister's intricately detailed leather jacket and his fingers grasped it's lining, drawing Lister closer. He felt the warmth of his body and his heart raced at the sweet sensation. It was all he ever wanted and Lister was all he ever needed. In that moment, all he could think about and all he was the blissful feeling of Lister's kiss...

Rimmer was hauled back to reality by the sound of Lister's voice in his ear.

"Oi, Rimmer, you even there or...?"

Rimmer blanched violently, jumping in his seat, his cheeks flooding scarlet.

"Do you mind not creeping up on me like that, Lister?" He snapped defensively, crossing his arms across his chest coldly.

Lister threw his hands up, "Sorry sorry!" He said, striding away from the table and cracking open a can of lager, having snatched it from the cupboard beside the door. It opened with a smooth hiss and he took a ravenous swig. "What are yeh doin' up so late anyway?"

Rimmer blushed an even deeper shade of red. "Um...I-I couldn't sleep." He murmured.

"Yeah, me neither. I just keep wakin' up." Lister said, sinking onto the covers of Rimmer's bunk and continuing to sip from his can.

"Oh yeah? Why?" Rimmer asked curiously, swiveling round in his chair to face Lister.

Lister shrugged dully. "Bad dreams..." He said, a hint of sadness in his groggy voice.

"Me too." Rimmer muttered dismally. Although, he thought, you can hardly call them bad. They were, in fact, quite the opposite by his standards.

"Oh yeh? What are they abou'?" Lister pressed on.

Rimmer shook his head. "Nothing really, Listy." His cheeks burned and he turned his back on Lister. Luckily, the shadows of the ship in gloom shrouded his face from Lister's prying eyes anyway.

"Come on," Lister grinned, gulping down another hearty mouthful of the sparkling golden liquid. "Yeh must remember if they've been keepin' you up."

"I don't want to talk about it." Rimmer scowled, glowering down at the table in front of him.

"Please?" Lister pleaded, the desperation for the truth evident in his tone. There was genuine curiosity behind Lister's words; something Rimmer failed to recognize.

"No!" Rimmer yelled, a formal finality in his voice siphoning off Lister's curiosity. He huffed a huge sigh, burying his head in his hands. "You wouldn't understand." His muffled voice broke the momentary silence.

"Yeh right man, I probably wouldn't." Lister chuckled. "I mean, with that messed up little mind of yers, I probably wouldn't know what was goin' on." He drained the final dregs of his lager and scrunched the can beneath his fingers before tossing it carelessly into the bin.

"Thanks Lister." Rimmer replied, his voice coloured with dark sarcasm.

Within minutes, Lister had clambered back onto the top bunk and fallen into the slipstream of unconsciousness, his soft snores drifting across the darkness to where Rimmer sat, pondering his own feelings, allowing himself to become consumed by the darkness.

Was it purely the stress of being marooned upon a ship for so long with no other company than a senile computer and a self-obsessed cat? Perhaps. But Rimmer truly did not know the cause of his feelings.

He often wondered if Lister felt the same way and this thought occurred to him once more as he sat hunched among the darkness, the frigid cold of the seat seeping through his pajamas and cooling his still heated skin. Whilst his own dreams revolved around Lister, he doubted Lister's dreams contained visions of the pair engaged in a long-anticipated fiery lip-lock. Lister's dreams were probably full of his lifetime fantasies with his supposedly ideal girl: Kristine Kochanski. The thought made Rimmer's heart throb with a small jolt of pain. He felt one solitary tear slip from a hazelnut eye before he could prevent it from falling. It rolled down his chiseled cheek, it's glistening trail weaving between shadows of stubble appearing on his jaw. He did not try to wipe it away, but instead let it fall. There was no point trying to deny it anymore; drying his tears was like fighting his feelings. And one thing was clear to him now:

He was in love with David Lister.

All his life he had battled with bad parents, a virtually non-existent sex-life, constant failure and now, he had faced the ominous duel of his feelings for Lister. But now he knew his feelings had won. They had triumphed against his doubts against all odds…but despite their victory, his feelings were futile. A pent-up frustration that could never be satisfied. He was a hologram made entirely of light; he wasn't even _real_. He could never touch Lister. He couldn't even feel him - brush his lips or link his fingers with his own. Another tear slipped silently from his eye.

Little did the second technician know that while Lister tossed and turned, becoming tangled amongst his sheets and stirring wildly within his slumber, the ship's third technician and resident bad boy was dreaming of hazelnut eyes and mahogany curls. He was lost in a sweet reverie of Rimmer's imaginary kiss. Not Kochanski or anyone else...just him. The man who frequently drove him to the brink if insanity and back, the man who single-handedly stopped his constant efforts to have fun aboard this ship was the reason for his sleepless nights and the recurring theme of his dreams.

But the Hologram would never know it, for neither possessed the courage to admit their feelings. They were too scared, too worried, too frightened of the consequences. But in their dreams, they were free to escape reality and be with each other in any way they wanted. They wanted each other, they longed for each other but somehow they both knew they could never truly have each other, despite their mutual feelings.

Rimmer retreated to his bunk and climbed beneath his sheets, the tear tracks still glimmering under the dim glow of the ship for no one else to see. He closed his eyes and fell into a series of sweet dreams, dreading dawn to arrive…

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_**Very short, but hopefully very sweet! **_

_**I really hoped you enjoyed that, Lister/Rimmer shippers and thanks for taking the time to read my fanfic!**_

_**Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.**_

_**Love,**_

_**RavenclawCookie**_


End file.
